Spoolable tubing, that is tubing capable of being spooled upon a reel, is commonly used in numerous oil well operations. Typical oil well operations include running wire line cable down hole with well tools, working over wells by delivering various chemicals down hole, and performing operations on the interior surface of the drill hole. The tubes used are required to be spoolable so that the tube can be used in conjunction with one well and then transported on a reel to another well location. Steel coiled tubing is typically capable of being spooled because the steel used in the product exhibits high ductility (i.e. the ability to plastically deform). Unfortunately, the repeated spooling and use of steel coiled tubing causes fatigue damage that can suddenly cause the steel coiled tubing to fracture and fail. The hazards of operating steel coiled tubing, i.e. risk to personnel and high economic cost resulting from down time needed to retrieve the broken tubing sections, forces steel coiled tubing to be retired after a relatively few number of trips into a well.
Steel coiled tubing has also proven to be subject to expansion after repeated uses. Tube expansion results in reduced wall thickness with the associated reduction in the pressure carrying capability of the steel coiled tubing. Steel coiled tubing known in the art is typically limited to an internal pressure up to about 5,000 psi. Accordingly, higher pressure and continuous flexing typically reduces the steel tube's integrity and service life.
For example, the present accepted industry standard for steel coiled tube is an A-606 type 4 modified HSLA steel with yield strengths ranging from 70 ksi to 80 ksi. The HSLA steel tubing typically undergoes bending, during the deployment and retrieval of the tubing, over radii significantly less than the minimum bending radii needed for the material to remain in an elastic state. The repeated bending of steel coiled tubing into and out of plastic deformation induces irreparable damage to the steel tube body leading to low-cycle fatigue failure.
Additionally, when steel coiled tubing is exposed to high internal pressures and bending loads, the isotropic steel is subjected to high triaxial stresses imposed by the added pressure and bending loads. The high triaxial stresses result in significant plastic deformation of the tube and diametral growth of the tube body, commonly referred to as "ballooning". When the steel coiled tube experiences ballooning, the average wall thickness of the tube is reduced, and often causes a bursting of the steel tube in the area of decreased thickness.
Steel coiled tubes also experience thinning of the tube walls due to the corrosive effect of materials used in the process of working over the well and due to materials located on the inner surface of the well bore. The thinning resulting from corrosive effects of various materials causes a decrease in the pressure and the tensile load rating of the steel coiled tubing.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide a non-steel coil tubing which is capable of being deployed and spooled under borehole conditions, which does not suffer from the limitations of steel tubing and is highly resistant to chemicals.
For the most part, prior art non-metallic tubular structures that are designed for being spooled and also for transporting fluids, are made as a hose whether or not they are called a hose. An example of such a hose is the Feucht structure in U.S. Pat. No. 3,856,052 which has longitudinal reinforcement in the side walls to permit a flexible hose to collapse preferentially in one plane. However, the structure is a classic hose with vulcanized polyester cord plies which are not capable of carrying compression loads or high external pressure loads. Hoses typically use an elastomer such as rubber to hold fiber together but do not use a high modulus plastic binder such as epoxy. Hoses are designed to bend and carry internal pressure but are not normally subjected to external pressure or high axial compression or tension loads.
When the ends of a hose are subjected to opposing forces, the hose is said to be under tension. The tensile stress at any particular cross-section of the hose is defined as the ratio of the force exerted on that section by opposing forces to the cross-sectional area of the hose. The stress is called a tensile stress, meaning that each portion pulls on the other.
With further reference to a hose subjected to opposing forces, the term strain refers to the relative change in dimensions or shape of the hose that is subjected to stress. For instance, when a hose is subjected to opposing forces, a hose whose natural length is L0 will elongate to a length L1=L0+Delta L, where Delta L is the change in the length of the hose caused by opposing forces. The tensile strain of the hose is then defined as the ration of Delta L to L0, i.e. the ratio of the increase in length to the natural length.
The stress required to produce a given strain depends on the nature of the material under stress. The ratio of stress to strain, or the stress per unit strain, is called an elastic modulus. The larger the elastic modulus, the greater the stress needed for a given strain.
For an elastomeric type material, such as used in hoses, the elongation at break is so high (typically greater than 400 percent) and the stress-strain response so highly nonlinear; it is common practice to define a modulus corresponding to a specified elongation. The modulus for an elastomeric material corresponding to 200 percent elongation typically ranges form 300 psi to 2000 psi. In comparison, the modulus of elasticity for typical plastic matrix material used in a composite tube is from 100,000 psi to 500,000 psi or greater, with representative strains to failure of from 2 percent to 10 percent. This large difference in modulus and strain to failure between rubber and plastics and thus between hoses and composite tubes is what permits a hose to be easily collapsed to an essentially flat condition under relatively low external pressure. This large difference also eliminates the hose's capability to carry high axial tension or compression loads while the higher modulus characteristic of the plastic matrix material used in a composite tube is sufficiently stiff to transfer loads into the fibers and thus resist high external pressure and axial tension and compression without collapse.
The procedure to construct a composite tube to resist high external pressure and compressive loads involves using complex composite mechanics engineering principles to ensure that the tube has sufficient strength. It has not been previously considered feasible to build a truly composite tube capable of being bent to a relatively small diameter, and be capable of carrying internal pressure and high tension and compression loads in combination with high external pressure requirements. Specifically a hose will not sustain high compression and external pressure loads.
Accordingly, it is one object of this invention to provide an apparatus and method for providing a substantially non-ferrous spoolable tube that does not suffer from the structural limitations of steel tubing and that is capable of being deployed and spooled under bore hole conditions.
A further object of the invention is to provide a composite coiled tube capable of working over wells and delivering various chemicals down hole quickly and inexpensively.
Another object of the invention includes providing a coiled tubing capable of repeated spooling and bending without suffering fatigue sufficient to cause fracturing and failing of the coiled tube.
Other objects of the invention include providing a spoolable tube capable of carrying corrosive fluids without causing corrosion in the spoolable tube, providing a coiled tube having less weight, and providing a coiled tube capable of withstanding higher internal pressure levels and higher external pressure levels without loosing tube integrity.
These and other objects will be apparent from the description that follows.